Man Arrested for CVS, Bank Robberies

Bobby Gene Shelly, 44, was arrested and charged in connection with four robberies throughout the county.

Shelly, of an unconfirmed address, is charged with three bank robberies and one robbery at a CVS, according to detectives from the Montgomery County Police and the Takoma Park Police.

He currently is at a facility in Washington, D.C., awaiting extradition to Montgomery County and Virginia.

At 1:23 a.m. on July 27, MCPD responded to the CVS Pharmacy in the 7800 block of Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, after receiving a report of an armed robbery. During the robbery, the suspect told an employee he had a gun and also pointed a knife at the employee, according to police. He stole cash from the register and fled.

Police obtained video and photographs of the suspect along with a description from the employee.

Later that same day, at 1:41 p.m., Takoma Police responded to a bank robbery at the Capital One Bank on University Boulevard East. Investigators from MCP and TPP compared surveillance photographs of the suspect and determined it was the same man from the CVS robbery, they said.

Other surveillance video from a nearby business showed the suspect entering a vehicle around the same time, and TPP obtained the tag number. Police then learned the vehicle had been reported stolen in Virginia the day before these two robberies.

The vehicle was located unoccupied in Washington, D.C. on July 29, and police found a prescription bottle with Shelly’s name on it and a knife. They also identified prints from the vehicle that belonged to Shelly, police said.

Further investigation showed that Shelly had been court ordered to complete a rehabilitation program at a facility in northern Virginia but had left sometime during the night between July 26 and July 27.

On Aug. 3 at 9:57 a.m., police responded to the report of a robbery at the M&T Bank on 5614 Wisconsin Ave, Bethesda. Three days later, police were called to a robbery at 1:54 p.m. at Capital One Bank, 11241 Georgia Ave., Wheaton.

After reviewing video surveillance, police determined that Shelly was the suspect in both cases, they said.

He was located on Aug. 9 at the Van Ness Metro Station where he was arrested by Metro Transit police officers.

About Suzanne Pollak

Suzanne is a freelance reporter with Montgomery Community Media. She has over 35 years professional experience writing for newspapers, magazines, non-profit newsletters and the web.

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